Villa Victorious

Padston Villa produced a strong home performance to hand F.C. Greatness their first defeat of the season at The Badger Dome. With Greatness on top of the division and Padston entertaining ideas of being there at the season’s end this was a much anticipated match-up which didn’t disappoint. The first-half would be a tight and tense affair with chances at either end. The first of which fell to the visitors and Martinus Benfari could count himself hard done by as his lob was disallowed for a poor offside call. Savo Milosevic would fire wide at the other end with their first chance of the match while Fabio Cannavaro had a shot caught by Handez as Greatness continued to look dangerous. Luigi McKeever was the next to try his luck for the hosts but Calvert was alert in goal before Milosevic unfortunately struck a post with a clever effort. Benfari would continue his miserable half by having an ambitious bicycle-kick go wide and Cannavaro wasted the last chance of the half by lobbing over. Padston would take a firm grip on the second-half by shutting out the visitors while fashioning a couple of chances for themselves. A free-kick on 70 minutes would see McKeever strike the woodwork but Villa wouldn’t be denied their win as Ray Goddard lobbed in from distance ten minutes later. Paddy will undoubtedly be delighted with this hard-fought win after the take-over turmoil of the week and he will now expect his side to put themselves in position for the crucial second-half of the season. Darren Calvert won’t be happy with the end result but will know the game could have been so different but for that bad early decision.

Smurftastic Smurfs again showed their potential with a 2-1 away success at previously unbeaten Pahang United. Mr T had spoke of the need to keep Ernie Ormondroyd quiet and his words had the ring of truth about them at the end of the contest. A free-kick for the hosts saw Kilian Strongbow waste it with a poor shot while Finlay MacCleir headed too close to Hussain as the sides felt each other out. Ormondroyd got his first chance to shine on 29 minutes but his free-kick was too high although better times were ahead for the forward. Craig Elliston would shoot wide for Smurfs before Tom Hording also hit a powerful low shot off-target. Hording would have a header held by Bogefeldt before the half and the sides trooped in goalless. The second-half began with a MacCleir bicycle-kick which brushed a post before Ormondroyd struck; a free-kick in a dangerous area being despatched confidently by the star. Pahang did respond and a diving header by Hording brought a brilliant save out of Bogefeldt but it wouldn’t be long before Ormondroyd struck again. This time a clumsy challenge in the area gave him the chance to convert a penalty, a chance he was never going to miss. Elliston would be denied a headed goal late on and Pahang then pulled a goal back courtesy of an excellent long range curled shot from Strongbow. However, they wouldn’t have time to force an equaliser and slipped to their first defeat of the season. Mr T will be hopeful his side heed his words better next time and they will look to immediately bounce back against Bumerang on Friday. Thesmurf was said to be ‘slightly happier’ and why not as it looks like Ormondroyd will win games on his own this season for the progressive side.

Bumerang joined the logjam on seven points as they defeated AJ Rovers 2-0 at Darkdale. With Rovers in mean mood defensively they still struggle to score many goals at the other end and the home side put in a textbook performance to earn the points. The sides would shadow box for the opening 45 minutes with Bumerang enjoying a lot of possession without penetrating the visiting side. However, the second-half would see chances and it would be the home side who would show the clinical touch in front of goal. Rovers would have the first chance but Donovan Bronach’s toe-poke was well-saved by Stancu and Bumerang capitalised. Shinosuke Isimaru would break through before placing the ball through the legs of Morell to put the home side 1-0 ahead. Sammy Shepherd would force Morell into smart work from a header but the second goal would come moments later as Joseph Heffer shot home from inside the area. Rovers missed a late chance as Cirilo Gibernaue lobbed over and their impotence in front of goal had cost them dear. Coolboy will have enjoyed his side’s performance and will be even more pleased to see his side level on points at the top but in an incredibly tight section they will not want to rest on their laurels. Rothion will need his side to open up offensively if they are to make the step onto the next level.

Splott recorded their first win of the season with a resilient away performance at Carthage FC. After promotion last season both sides are looking to produce some more magic this term but up until this point it had been Carthage who had began Division One football the stronger of the two. Quincy Lansbury would head straight at Ghostrider for the hosts and Splott would stun them with two first-half goals. A penalty allowed Frank Punisher the chance to deliver a vital first goal and then just eight minutes later Paul-Phillip Ravage produced a devastating diving header to double their advantage. Torsten Post did hit a fine shot which needed saving by Ghostrider before Hamilcar Barca also tested the ‘keeper’s handling as Carthage looked to hit back. The second-half saw Carthage launch an assault on the visiting goal as they looked for a way back into the match. A free-kick saw Ad Herbal hit too close to Ghostrider but Carthage would be given a route back in with a coolly taken penalty by Post. Herbal would see another free-kick go wide while Ted Tolley had a header saved at the other end. Miguel Angelo wasted one last chance for the hosts to get level as he headed poorly and the home side had slipped to a damaging defeat. Nevertheless, Blakey will remain calm and have his side ready to go for their tough-looking trip to Greatness on Friday. Splott News called it a ‘gritty display’ and the club were said to be happy that they also didn’t ‘pick up any more injuries and suspensions’ ahead of an important time.

Kensington Boys Club followed their first point of the season from their last game with their first win as they defeated Cardiff 2-0 at Kensington Grounds. With both sides having endured a sluggish start they were each looking for the boost of three points in this key encounter. The first-half would be entertaining from the start with Tommaso Miceli wasting an early headed opportunity for Cardiff. Charles Tilly then had a header of his own saved by Peyton at the other end before Cardiff could count themselves unlucky with Stephen Julius striking the angle from a powerfully curled shot. Marco Busquets then lobbed against the bar as the wind was taken out of the Cardiff sails. Tilly had a volley saved by Peyton before a free-kick by James Wilde saw Kensington strike the front on 28 minutes. A breakaway nearly gave Kensington their second before the break but Adrian Gray could get his chip up but not down as the ball sailed over. Despite this miss the home side would retain control in the second 45 minutes and would force the only two chances. Tilly’s volley would go too close to Peyton before Gray did seal the win by placing the ball beyond the ‘keeper on 83 minutes. Patrik will hope this win relaxes his side so they can go on and play the sort of football which they have become accustomed. Meanwhile, Uwfb won’t panic despite seeing his side hit the bottom of the table and will recognise a couple of wins could see them challenging at the other end.

Also picking up their first win were AC Milan who edged out Bonkers 3-2 at San Siro. With both sides struggling at the beginning of the season it would be AC who would approach this game the more positively and earn the three points. They flew out of the blocks and might have taken the lead had Hawke not been so alert in the visiting goal to tip over a Caj Rundqvist lob. Jonte Sandholm would then waste a chance by shooting wide but Milan would take the lead as the forward made amends by firing in from inside the area. Sandholm would see his header miss the goal before a further powerful strike was held by Hawke. The second goal would duly arrive on 21 minutes with Ricardo Kaka hitting a firecracker from distance to stun the Bonkers’ rearguard. The visitors would get a much needed boost on 24 minutes as Chris Sutton shot home to bring them to within one and Claudio Silverstri might have levelled but for a poor header seven minutes later. However, Milan were still looking dangerous and Rundqvist planted a precise header beyond Hawke to make it 3-1 on 34 minutes. Joel Weymouth wasted a decent chance for the visitors before Hawke kept them in the contest by saving from a Savino Piovanelli header and a Quigley Addison free-kick. The second-half would be somewhat anticlimactic after the first as Milan failed to reproduce their attacking display. Rundqvist did miss a decent chance early in the half but from then on it was stalemate until the moment Pietro Di Fabio rifled in a free-kick to give the away side hope. This hope wouldn’t realise any points, though, and Simone Spina even had the ball in the net for the hosts but had his glory taken away by the linesman’s flag. Still, Xmensch can now feel like his campaign is underway and with his side only three points back they haven’t really lost any ground despite their sluggish start. GarethLloyd described his start to the season as ‘rubbish’ and added that ‘everyone is hard in training’ to try and turn it round.